ADDISON COUNTY — Five local Addison County students were selected by the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont as winners of the statewide “ReThink Your Drink” poster contest. The contest challenged students to use their artistic abilities to illustrate a poster showing healthy drink choices and the importance of choosing healthy beverages — water, low-fat or fat-free milk, and 100-percent fruit juices.
The following students from both Vergennes Union and Bristol elementary schools were awarded prizes for displaying exceptional artistic abilities and for their understanding of healthy drink choices.
At Vergennes Union Elementary School, sixth-grader Anna Rakowski was the second-place grand-prize winner for all submissions in grades three through eight. Two other sixth-graders, Summer Chabot and Amanda Cook, earned honorable mention.
At Bristol Elementary School, third-grader Isabelle Gallivan and second-grader Allison Wells earned honorable mention.
“The research shows that sugary drinks are the number one source of caloric intake for U.S. children, meaning kids are getting more calories from sugary drinks than they are from foods like pizza, ice cream or candy” said the Alliance’s grassroots coordinator Emma Helverson. “If we want to ensure a healthy future for our Vermont kids, it’s imperative that they are involved in conversations that explore why healthy drink choices are equally as important as healthy food choices. It’s clear from all the submissions we received that parents and teachers were prioritizing these conversations in schools and counties across the state.”
The contest, which was co-sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society, elicited over 150 entries from counties all across Vermont. The judges based their decisions on overall creativity, effort and strength of message. In addition to the grand prizewinners, judges also selected honorable mention winners representing the best entry from each county.
To see the grand-prize winning posters and honorable mention winners of the “ReThink Your Drink Poster Contest” visit the gallery at www.healthiervt.org/gallery.
For more information about the Alliance itself and its policy efforts to reduce sugary drink consumption in Vermont, visit www.healthiervt.org.